So things with Laura have settled down finally. We never did make it in to the doctor on Wednesday. She woke up completely fever free. I decided that since she was feeling fine, I would go to work and she’d go to daycare. Around 11, Helen emailed me that Laura was starting to run a fever. I had her give Laura some ibuprofen. Her fever never went down, but it didn’t go up either. There was also no rash at all behind her ear. Today she has been great. She’s had a 99° fever off and on, but I don’t worry too much. She is eating and playing just fine. She also took a nice long nap this afternoon. We are still going to see the ENT tomorrow just to make sure everything is good. I feel like we might be on the mend around here, at least the kids are. Robert is now fighting another cold that has settled deep in his chest.
All month long both kids have been fighting ear infections and junk. Most recently, Laura’s have started to act up. I thought at first that she was just saying her ears hurt because Warren has been getting so much attention for his. When he is teething, she will say her teeth hurt too. I have a hard time deciphering real complaints from attention wanting ones. On Friday, Feb. 18, Robert took Laura in for an appointment since she’d been complaining about her ears again. She was put on Augmentin. She did ok on it for a while, but then complained about her ears hurting again. Once again, I contributed it to wanting attention. We spent the 19th-23rd down at Mom and Dad’s. She was feeling rough the last two days we were there. I guessed it was to not sleeping well (neither of us did). Friday at daycare Laura started complaining about her ears hurting again. All day long she said it was her left ear and she started running a 100.3 fever. Thankfully she was able to spend the entire day there. We debated taking her in over he weekend to the doctor. She still had a 99-100 degree fever, but otherwise she acted fine. Monday morning of this week (the 27th) she woke up with a 103 fever. I knew then that I had to get her in. Thankfully we were able to get in with the pediatrician that we’ve seen before, and we like her.
At first, the doctor couldn’t see any cause for the fever and had no ideas. It was then that I saw a rash starting behind her ear. I figured it was from a constant fever. The doctor took a look and said that it wasn’t from the fever. It looked like it might be mastoiditis. It is caused by the ear infection spreading to the mastoid bone (right behind the ear). We ended up giving Laura some strong antibiotics via shots in her legs. We made a follow up appointment for Tuesday. When we got home, I started searching for mastoiditis on the internet. I made sure that the sites I looked at were reputable ones (WebMD for example). What I read scared me. I had to stop reading.
This morning Laura woke up and still had a 99 fever, but otherwise was acting fine. We had thought the appointment was made for 8:20 this morning. We got to the clinic, and it turns out the appointment had been made for Wednesday morning. We were able to get her in this afternoon with the same doctor as Monday. Laura was dancing, singing, being a happy girl. I figured we had turned the corner and were on the road to recovery. I had an eye appointment this evening. When I got home, Laura was in tears, pointing to the back of her head, and saying it hurt. I immediately looked behind her ear and saw the rash forming again. I picked Laura up and cuddled her on my lap. Just rocking a little bit, she started to doze off. She was also saying that she was cold, even though she had on long pants and long sleeve shirt and the house is at 68/69. I seriously considered taking her into the ER. I kept thinking about what I had read yesterday online about mastoiditis and what some of the complications can be from it. We decided to wait until the morning. I’ll call right away to get in. In the meantime, I’m trying to get my mind off it. Not the easiest thing to do. Yesterday my mommy senses (kind of like Spidey senses) were tingling telling me that this is going to get bad. I don’t know how bad it is going to get, but right now I am thinking that we could end up in the hospital for it. 
I usually don’t follow politics that closely. Typically politicians will vote the way they want, and we find a way to make life work with the decisions they make. Right now there are protests going on every day at the state capitol. Gov. Scott Walker has introduced a bill that will strip unions of all bargaining rights except for pay, and even that will have limits. In addition to that, it will require employees to contribute more to retirement and health care premiums. Also included in the bill is that employees will not be required to be a part of a union. Union dues will not be taken out of the paycheck. There are other policies in the bill, but the biggest outcry is over the unions.
The Republicans are trying to push through this bill quickly. The Democratic senators have left the state in order to slow down the voting process. Teachers are doing sick-outs in protest of the bill. Madison schools have been closed for 3 days this week. DeForest was closed one. Hudson was closed one day. People from all walks are protesting this bill. People are also supporting it. I think there isn’t a lot of education going on. I don’t think there are many people that know what is included in the bill entirely. They take the points they like/disagree with and run with it without fully understanding the rest. I admit that I haven’t seen the entire bill and what is all included.
I’d say that both the unions and the government are to blame here. Unions have been known to drag out the negotiations. If I recall correctly, Robert is working the 2009-11 contract that still hasn’t been settled. The governor is wanting to get the state employees on par with the private sector. My issue is that he wants us to pay more for health care and retirement. I can live with that, but is he going to then pay us on par with what private sector employees get?
If this bill passes it would affect us greatly. Robert’s paycheck would be cut. On the other hand, we would have the option of off-setting some of the blow by not paying the union dues anymore. It is just a tough situation. Robert has emailed his opinion to our representative. At this point, we just have to live with what is voted. Doesn’t mean we have to like it. During the next election, we will vote and have our voice heard once again.
I was more productive today at home than I have been in the last few weeks. I finally got tired of the house looking as bad as it was. I loved having it clean and picked up all the time. It took effort to maintain, but not nearly as much to do the full clean up after it has been let go for a while. I spent probably close to 5 hours cleaning getting the house back in shape. I can sit and smile at the work I did. 
I made the decision today to take Laura into the doctor. She’s had a cough for about 3 weeks that varies in severeness. She has started running a low grade fever (99.5 or so) for the last 4 days. My mommy instinct was telling me that something wasn’t right. I could see that the tube in her left ear had come out, but wasn’t out of her ear canal. It was most convenient to do it today as opposed to Thursday or after. There was one opening at 5:20, which worked perfect for us. Robert just stayed at work a little later and met us at the clinic. Turns out that the tube JUST fell out. There is still a hole in her ear drum, which explains why she absolutely does not want water in her ears. Looking at her throat, she is also battling another bug. Putting these two together, she is now on Zithromax. Hopefully this will help get everything under control before heading to DeForest next week.
These kids are going to eat us out of house and home. It is 8:20 and they are both wanting more to eat. Laura has had 4 meatballs, half a slice of toast with jelly on it, and 3 peach segments. Warren has had 4 meatballs, quarter of a banana, and half a slice of toast with jelly on it. Robert is going to make another slice of toast for them to share. It is hard to decide between them needing to be in bed and going to bed with full tummies. I hope they both sleep really well!
Before I get into Silverlicious, I’ll back up and recap Friday and the doctor appointments. I was feeling fine Friday morning. I called and cancelled my appointment since I felt it would have been a waste of time for the doctor to look at me. Warren’s ears were still a bit cloudy. We changed him to Augmentin from amoxicillin. There seems to be a big change already with his ears/nose drainage.
Saturday was originally going to be a scrapbooking day for Mandy and I. I then saw in an email that Borders was having a Silverlicious launch party for kids. I knew Laura would have fun. Mandy and I changed our plans to include taking Laura to the party. We started our day a little later than we normally would, and made pizza for lunch. Once lunch was finished, we headed to Borders.
They read Pinkalicious, Purplicious, and Silverlicious. They girls could then decorate either a wand or crown. Laura chose to decorate a crown and glued on various shapes. Once the crafts were finished, they provided small bites of cookie bars and a small cup of hot chocolate to the kids. We stuck around and Laura got 4 stickers and 4 pencils (pink, purple, gold, and silver to go along with each book in the series). On our way back to Mandy’s, we stopped at Dairy Queen for some ice cream. I got Laura her usual strawberry sundae and I had a twist cone. Laura decided she liked my cone and left about half of her sundae.
Once back at Mandy’s, we watched Ratatouille. Mandy took a short snooze. :) Rather than come back home to cook, we decided to go to Perkins. Laura loved the pancakes with sprinkles.
I was originally a little disappointed that I wouldn’t get my full day away from the kids on Saturday like we had planned. But then I started focusing on the fun we would have and the memories that would be made. It is so nice that Laura is getting to the age where she can miss a nap once in a while. To be honest, I was surprised at just how much fun I had with her on Saturday. Laura was loving that both Mandy and I were doting on her. I was quite surprised that she didn’t get whiny with how long and big of a day it was. When we were eating she started acting a little tired. I felt her forehead and she was warm. She is running a slight fever now. :( On the other hand, she’s had a cough for so long that it is kinda nice to have another symptom show up. If I take her in to the doctor, I can now say that she has a cough and a fever.
This morning there was a pancake breakfast at church. I took Laura while Robert stayed home with Warren. The little boy was still not feeling well, and Robert didn’t get much sleep after 4 am. That way when Warren napped this morning he could too. There was also a bake sale going on at church. Laura wanted to buy some cookies to share with ALL of the kids. I convinced her that we could buy some for her to share with her Sunday school class. Laura did really well during church as well. She is also going up on her own for the Children’s Sermon. I love the independence she is starting to show.
Time to clean up some dishes and switch laundry again before bed.
I was feeling pretty good yesterday. Today is the opposite. This afternoon my ears and throat started hurting. As I type, it hurts to swallow. Coughing also hurts. I may take my special cough syrup tonight. Part of me is wondering if I haven’t picked up strep somewhere.
It was really challenging tonight. Robert and Joe went to go see a movie. I originally wouldn’t have cared. Joe’s had a rough couple of weeks at work. I’ve always told Robert that if he can find a time, he can go. Tonight I was really tempted to ask him to reschedule. I didn’t though because I know it isn’t always easy for Joe to get out. The movie they are going to see is getting very difficult to find in theaters. If they waited another week, it may not have been possible. So back to the home front. Warren started to run a fever again tonight (only 99.5, but it’s still a fever). He still isn’t eating much at all. He was a bit whiny tonight. Laura is getting jealous of all the attention Warren is getting for being sick. As a result, she is demanding a lot of attention. This resulted in an evening of one whiny child, one child demanding attention, and one mommy that just doesn’t feel well. Around 6:30 or so I had a moment of weakness and hit my breaking point.
The current plan for tomorrow is for me to go to work until 2. Then I will go to Helen’s to pick up Warren. We both have appointments at 3. After appointments, I’ll pick up Robert and then we’ll pick up Laura. I’m going to enjoy an episode of Bones since both kids are in bed and I have full control of the tv.
This is can be taken a few ways.
1. I am mostly over my sinus/bronchial infection. I have one more pill in my Z pack to take.
2. I am coming out of survival mode from book issue. This week I am working only 2 days.
3. I finally got my haircut again tonight. I last had it cut in the beginning of September.
4. I tried something new tonight. I waxed my eyebrows. Ok, so I didn’t. I paid someone to do it to me.
I have considered off and on for a while waxing my eyebrows. I had not thought much about it while I was in high school or college. I guess I had to attitude that my eyebrows are so light that it didn’t matter. While I was getting my haircut tonight, I asked my stylist her opinion on my eyebrows. She told me where I could clean them up. After my cut was finished, she asked me if I wanted to get them waxed tonight. I agreed. What can I say? I was ready for a little adventure in my advanced age of late 20s. :) After doing one eyebrow, she gave me the mirror to compare a before and after. Wow. What a difference! I feel like I am taking my look up one more notch. I figure this goes well with my weight loss. I am starting to take pride in my look. I seemed to have missed that in high school/most of college. Call me a late bloomer.
Tomorrow my agenda consists of laundry, scrubbing the bathroom, scrubbing the floors. Thankfully the kitchen and living room are already done. I may run the vacuum over the floor once again. I am wanting to get back into the routine I had from October to December.
I wanted to stay on track of my frequent posting. I am tried and it is time for bed, so this will be short. I spent most of today dealing with a whiny, clingy, sick boy. He’s had a cold for about 2 weeks and started running a fever this weekend. I took him into the doctor today to learn that he had one raging ear infection, and the other ear wasn’t infected, but it didn’t look normal. He is now on amoxicillin for 10 days. We go back in March for a follow up/18 month appointment. His 18 month appointment was originally scheduled for Thursday morning. We decided to postpone it for two reasons. 1. The vaccinations wouldn’t be as effective since his immune system is already battling one thing. 2. We have to go back in 4 weeks for a follow up to make sure the fluid is out of his ears. Tonight he was doing a little bit better, but not enough to be confident he is definitely on the mend yet. I am working for sure tomorrow. We are going to see how the little boy is doing in the morning before we make any decisions about him staying home/going to daycare. If he stays home, Robert will work from home. So that is my recap of the day essentially.
We are slowly working on getting the house back in order. I had done so well from October to December with keeping everything picked up and cleaned up. Then the holidays came and we never retook control. I am determined to take control once again. I was so happy with having a clean house. I want that feeling back. I am hoping that a little bit of time cleaning on Thursday will accomplish the goal of re-establishing control. We will see what the day brings then.
Today was very much needed. In the interest of full disclosure, I wasn’t looking forward to it yesterday. I was still feeling pretty miserable and wasn’t sure how I would be feeling. It is hard enough to take care of kids when you are sick. Add in a sick little boy, and today wasn’t looking too promising. Add in spending a good chunk of the day with your mother-in-law and it was just daunting to think about. Thankfully, I was totally wrong about today. Well, Warren is still sick. I am feeling much better after taking the Z Pack. I still cough and the throat is a bit sore at times, but so much better than yesterday morning.
John and Kathy got here between 10 and 10:30. Robert and John had plans to go see the Hubble Omnifilm at the science museum. This left Kathy with the kids and me. I had at first hoped to get some shopping in, but with the kids’ naps and lunch, I wasn’t sure that was possible. Warren “fixed” that problem for us and was up after a short nap. Both kids were happy. I fed Warren some chicken nuggets before we left around 11:30/11:45. I knew he wouldn’t last until the planned lunch at 1:30. I also packed a snack for Laura since I knew she’d be getting hungry. We had enough time to hit Sam’s Club for Kathy before meeting the guys. Thankfully they had a nice cart that both of the kids could ride in.
Side note: I have often thought about getting a Sam’s Club membership. Then I think about how often I would truly use it. I would have to drive to Woodbury in order to shop. If you aren’t aware of prices, you could end up actually paying more. There are some really good deals there too though. I just went and looked. It is $40 a year. It is tempting. Maybe I can convince Robert to have us try it one year to see how it works for us.
While we were shopping and at lunch, Laura really took to Kathy today. This made me very happy. She has a very close bond with my mom. I have been worried a little bit that she doesn’t have one as close with Kathy. Today put those worries at ease. This morning, Laura kept asking Kathy if she wanted to come shopping with us. When we got out of the car, she instantly wanted to hold Grandma’s hand. She also sat by Grandma at lunch. :) When it was time for John and Kathy to leave, Laura eagerly hugged them both goodbye. It makes me very happy that my little girl loves both of her grandmas and grandpas.
After lunch, I sent Robert and John back to the house with the kids. Warren was running a high fever again. This gave Kathy and I time for just us. We both enjoy shopping at similar places, albeit for different things. I was able to pick up a plethora of scrapbooking supplies while she was able to drool over an embroidering machine. Two happy ladies is a very good thing.
To be honest, I was afraid that Kathy and I would run out of things to talk about during the day. This turned out to not be a problem at all. She and I were able to have a very nice conversation all day long. We transitioned from one topic to another very easily. I didn’t worry about censoring myself at all. Without realizing it, she was giving some great advice to me. She is always careful about giving advice so that she isn’t coming off as meddling or interfering. Through the stories and anecdotes she shared, I was able to gleam some wisdom from and insight into a very smart woman.
Time to get supper out of the oven. It is a late one for us tonight. Hopefully I will continue to update a bit more regularly again.
Every night before bed, Laura says the Lord’s prayer and then does blessings for people. Without fail, her blessings start with “Mommy, and Daddy, and Warren, and me.” She will add in other people in her life as she thinks about them. The past few nights she has started adding in Helen, Sammy, Sammy’s mom, and the other kids at daycare with her. I find two things interesting here.
1. She is not afraid to ask for blessings for herself. In all the years that I have done prayers aloud (mainly group settings), I don’t think I have ever heard a person directly pray for blessings for himself. I have heard them ask for blessings and someone else will pray for them. But to be so bold as Laura is and directly ask God to bless her is quite a lesson. Jesus tells us we need to have faith like a child. I feel that Laura is teaching me to what extent this is. Not only do we need to just accept, but we can be bold in our prayers. I also find it interesting that she does not mention herself until after the other members of the immediate family are blessed. She does however, ask for her blessings before she blesses any of the extended family or friends. I don’t know if she really has a reasoning for why she does it in this order. I have tried really hard to not force a certain pattern to her blessings. I will guide and ask if there is anyone else, or if she is naming off family members and forgets a few, I will help her with those people that were forgotten. I have never once mentioned that she should or should not bless herself. I also have not ever mentioned an order to her for the blessings.
2. She has just started to add others to her blessings. She has typically kept it to be just family (including grandparents and aunts/uncles/cousins). We had asked her a few times if we should bless Pastor John, but she denied that without giving a reason. Then out of the blue a few nights ago, she started adding in Helen, Sammy, and the others. I don’t know what prompted this. I don’t know what her line of thinking is. It does make me happy that she is starting to think of others outside of her family though.